it’s often bigger than your plan…

if you’re overwhelmed today you may need this.  look at what GOD has promised.

in psalm 138.8 he does not say, “the LORD will work out my plans for my life,” or “the LORD will work out the plans i want for my life.”  it says (nlt), the LORD will work out HIS plans for my life.  you need to know this about GOD’s plan.

GOD’s plan for your life is often bigger than your plan, because GOD has a bigger perspective.  we are looking at the story of JESUS mother and all mary and joseph wanted to do was get married, settle down, put some meat in the crockpot and buy a condo!  just have a happy, little comfortable life.  GOD said, “no!  I want to bless the whole world through you.”  it was a slightly bigger plan.

you have no idea how much GOD wants to bless your life!  you have no idea what GOD could do through your life if it was totally, completely, absolutely sold out to HIM.  not just a part of your life.  but if every fiber of your being belonged to GOD and you said, “GOD, like mary, whatever you want in my life i’m willing to have it.  whatever you want, GOD.”  you have no idea how GOD could use you in great ways.  GOD’s plan is often bigger.

just a thought from the front porch…

when the odds are stacked against you…

in looking at your life, have you ever felt like the odds are stack against you?

vegas is a town that is built on odds.  the reality is that if you gamble the odds are stacked against you.  all of the millions and millions of dollars that are spent in building all of those casinos are not being spent because they believe you will win.  no, they are built because they know you will lose.  the odds are against you.

have you ever had a day where you feel like everybody is ganging up on you?  what do you do when you're facing insurmountable, overwhelming problems?

one of the names of GOD in the hebrew is JEHOVAH nissi which means “I am the GOD who defends you.”  I am the GOD who protects you.  literally, “I defend you when the odds are against you.” 

one of the great examples of this is 2 chronicles 20, one of the great stories in the bible.  the story goes that three enemy nations of israel decided to team up and go to war against israel at the same time.  they were going to tag team israel into submission. 

the king of israel at this time was a guy named jehoshaphat.  you would think with the odds three to one this would be a story of defeat and devastation but in the end, jehoshaphat wins.  he beats the odds because he did everything right.

it's a wonderful story that explains GOD’s protection over the nation of israel.  but GOD doesn’t put these stories in the bible just to teach us history lessons.  there are principles that are there for us to learn on how to handle overwhelming odds, how to handle when you’re in a battle of life. 

some of you are in a financial battle.  some of you are in a relationship battle.  some of you are in a battle with a disease.  these same principles apply to the battles of life you’re going to face this week even when it seems like there’s no way out, even when it seems like you’re going under for the last time.  what do you do?

before you do anything else you go directly to GOD.  you don’t pass “go”, you don’t “collect $200”.  you go straight to GOD and say, “GOD, i am overwhelmed!”  you ask, “GOD, what do you think about this situation?” and you try to get GOD’s perspective on the problem. 

just a thought from the front porch…

something positive out of the negatives…

GOD has the big picture when it comes to pain and suffering and we don’t. we’re limited by our perspective. we have finite minds and experiences.

we don’t many times understand when GOD allows things to happen in our life. it’s because HE loves us, because HE’s disciplining us, trying to get us on the right track. and we blame HIM and curse HIM for the things that have happened to us. why? because we don’t have the big picture. and that's reality.

but when we do have the big picture our attitude is going to change – someday in eternity, when we have the big picture. listen to these words of joni erickson tada, “every sorrow we face will one day prove to be the best possible thing that could have happened to us. we will thank GOD endlessly in heaven for the trials HE sent us here. this is not disneyland. this is the truth!” this is from a woman who was paralyzed as a teen, who is well acquainted with pain and suffering.

GOD can accomplish something positive out of the negatives of life. HE does this by fulfilling the promise HE makes in romans 8.28 (niv), and we know that in all things GOD works for the good of those who love HIM, who have been called according to HIS purpose. GOD’s saying HE can take the bad circumstances that befall us and HE can cause good to emerge if we are committed to HIM and committed to HIS purposes.

the old testament gives a wonderful illustration of this in the life of joseph. joseph was a guy who was sold into slavery by his own brothers. then he’s falsely accused of a crime, falsely imprisoned, twelve years of pain and horrible suffering. then he’s elevated to a role of great authority where he finally can save the lives of the very brothers who had sold him into slavery and many other people.

this is what he says in genesis 50.20 (niv) to his brothers about the sufferings that he went through: you intended to harm me, but GOD intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. you intended it for bad but GOD intended to use it for good. and if you’re committed to GOD, then HE promises to take whatever pain you experience in your life and to draw good from it.

just a thought from the front porch…

get you down or lift you up…

it is important to see your storms from a new perspective.

“a fishing fleet left a small harbor in newfoundland and was caught in a terrible storm. when night came, the ships were scheduled to return home, yet none of them did.

all night long the mothers, wives, and children of the fishermen walked the shores looking for some sign of their loved ones, praying tearfully that god would bring them back safely. adding to their anxieties, one of the homes in the village caught fire in the middle of the night. since all of the men were gone, it burned to the ground.

but as the morning dawned, the entire fleet of ships sailed safely back into the harbor. all of the villagers rejoiced when they saw their men safely home, except the woman whose home had burned down. approaching her husband with grief written across her face, she cried out, ‘we are ruined! our home and everything we had was destroyed by fire.’

her husband, however, just shook his head. ‘thank GOD for the fire!’ he exclaimed. ‘it was the light of our burning home that guided the whole fleet into port.’”

listen, that storm that you are going through can be an answer to your pray. it may not be the way you would answer it but the storm can be a beacon to that neighbor, that child, that spouse, that relative that needs to see if what you say you believe really does make a difference in those storms of life that we all are going to go through.  you can say, “we have survived. instead of getting in despair we got on top of the storm and we made it an adventure. and we have some great stories to tell.” and satan now knows that this is not the way that he is going to get you down.

you see, you can either let the storm get you down or lift you up. let GOD have your confidence and your total trust because, those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles. isaiah 40.31 (niv)

just a thought from the front porch…

love is a commitment...

the bible says that love is a commitment. 1 john 4.16 says (cev), GOD is love. if we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with GOD and HE will stay one with us.

our relationship with GOD is largely affected by our relationship with other people. if we stay in love, then we will keep in one with our hearts with GOD, and HE’ll stay in one with us. because GOD is love.

notice the phrase, keep on loving. love keeps on. love is durable. love keeps on giving whether you like it or not. love keeps on keeping on. kind of like the energizer bunny. it keeps on giving, it keeps on loving, it keeps on going.

GOD is the only one who can give you a love that will last a lifetime. all other human love fails. it’s not strong enough. GOD’s love in your heart can help you through the inevitable test of your love.

my suspicion is that all of us need a lot of work in this area. i don’t know anybody who’s got this one down pat. we all have a lot of growing to do in mature love.

so how do you do it? how do you build a life of real deep love? how to get stated. there are some things that you can do this week that will help you get on the road to becoming a truly great lover, a truly great person of love. because this is what matters most in life.

one is learn how mature love acts and responds. personal change always begins with a change in perspective. it involves getting GOD’s perspective on what love is really like. because, as i said, the world knows nothing about real, deep love. get GOD’s perspective on what love is all about because GOD is love.

another is start your day with a daily reminder to love. the first 10 minutes of your day sets your entire mood for the rest of the day. if you’ll get up in the morning and say, “GOD, i just want to remind myself that the most important thing is love. loving you and loving other people.” if you’ll do that at the start of the day before you get busy, you pause and say, “help me to remember this because it’s so easy to forget. that if i don’t get anything else done today, if i just love YOU a little bit more, and i love the people that YOU put around me just a little bit more, this day has gone ok regardless of what else happens. whether i get anything else done in life or not, if i love YOU and i love other people today, this is not a wasted day.”

if you don’t do that, you’ll get halfway into your day and then comes the conflict or the crisis or the confrontation and all of these things, and you’re tempted to be unloving because you didn’t start the day with that in mind.

just a thought from the front porch…